House of Hades
by Rebel Against The Plaid Skirt
Summary: This is Housef Hades...in Nico's POV! What was the son of Hades thinking throughout the quest? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

This is House of Hades told from Nico's P.O.V! I can't be the only one who wants to know what the son of Hades was thinking, right? Especially during Croatia! So...enjoy!  
*NOTE: I do not own the plot, the name, or the characters.*

Nico

The ship was being attacked.

Which, really, wasn't all that surprising. The _Argo II_ was constantly under attack lately. The Athena Parthenos was like a magical monster magnet, Nico thought. It attracts everything. Plus, of course, with Nico sitting on the mast and Hazel on the deck, the two children of Hades (Or Pluto. Nico wasn't picky.) were probably helping the ivory goddess attract the _ourae_. _Numina montanum_, Nico remembered Jason calling them. That was the Roman translation, anyway. It was _ourae_ in Greek.

He was so deep in his thoughts, he nearly failed his job as look out.

"Leo!" He called down to the son of Hephaestus. Leo was doing something with the controls that Nico didn't understand. "Leo!" He tried again. It didn't look like Leo could hear him, though.

"HARD TO PORT!" Nico shouted as loudly as he could. It probably didn't sound as loud down there, but at least Leo seemed to have heard him. He veered to the left, almost knocking Nico off the mast. He gripped to the poles until his knuckles turned white.

Then he looked towards Hazel, who had been peering over the railing.

And who also had a huge boulder heading straight for her head.

"HAZEL!" Nico shouted. _Too late_, he realized, _She didn't hear me_.

Luckily, Hazel had seen the boulder and ducked. Unluckily, the boulder's new target was the mast Nico happened to be sitting on. He couldn't duck his way out of this. Instead, he watched as the boulder got closer. He tried to position himself so he wouldn't break any bones from the fall.

Then, there was a loud CRACK! He barely had time to think: _di Angelo is falling down, falling down, falling down_, before feeling himself hit the deck. All at once, every single spot seemed to hurt at once. He felt kind of dazed, but Hazel's exclamation of "Nico!" snapped him out of it.

"I'm fine." He insisted, kicking the canvas off his legs. Hazel grabbed his hand and pulled him up. Stumbling slightly, he followed Hazel to the bow. The two siblings peered over the railing again, wary of flying boulders.

There, at the top of the mountain, was a _Numina_. It was pretty much the same as the others, look wise. it wore a white tunic. It's skin looked like the earth you might find by a volcano; it has rough and dark. His white beard was unkempt, reminding Nico of a crazy hermit. He could tell that Hazel and Leo both thought the same.

The _numina_ shouted something too loudly for Nico to understand. He pulled another huge piece of rock out of the side of the mountain and formed it into a ball. Like a snowball, Nico thought, except this is deadly.

As the _numina_ and the mountain receded into the fog, a loud bellowing noise was heard, followed by other numina's loud, deep voices.

"Stupid rock gods!" Leo shouted, startling Nico, "That's the _third_ time I've had to replace that mast!You think they grow on trees?" Nico frowned thoughtfully.

"Masts _are_ from trees." He pointed out.

"That's not the point!" Leo snapped. He grabbed a Wii remote and spun it in a quick circle.A celestial bronze canon rose from a trapdoor a few feet away. Nico and Hazel both covered their ears before it shot out several metal spheres, each one trailing green fire behind it. Suddenly,they surprised Nico by growing spikes and continuing into the fog.

Nico was trying to figure out the chances of it working when several explosions spanned across the mountain range.

It almost drowned out the angry noises the _numina_ were making.

"Ha!" Leo shouted victoriously. Unfortunately, his victory didn't last long. A huge boulder flew by their starboard side.

"Get us out of here!" Nico exclaimed. He made a promise to Percy. He wouldn't let the _numina_ kill him. Or Hazel and Leo, for that matter. So, if that meant letting Leo take command, Leo was going to take command.

Leo muttered something unintelligible before turning the wheel. The ship tacked to port, and began to sail to the northwest.

Just like they had been doing for the past two days.

Nico knew they needed a better plan. They can't just keep backtracking like this. They would never get to Epirus that way. The thought of Percy staying down there for longer than necessary sent tingles down his spine. If he and Annabeth were going to make it, they couldn't spend lot of time in Tartarus.

Nico shook his head. He couldn't afford to think like that. Ever since Bianca died, he had been horrible at staying positive; however, if he made it seem like the mission was impossible, the others might start thinking that, too. He couldn't let that happen.

He glanced around. The fog had cleared, and he could see the Italian land below them. He looked over at the other two demigods on deck. Hazel and Leo both seemed to be fine. That was good. The rest of the demigods on this quest (And Coach Hedge) were asleep in their quarters.

Now that he knew everyone else was fine, he could care about himself, the one who had actually gotten the most damage. His head was pounding, but he didn't think he had a concussion. No broken bones. That was easy to see. However, he had a multitude of little splinters from the mast stuck in his arms, legs, and he was pretty sure he felt a few in his neck. _Numina_ _are a pain in the neck_, he thought with a small smile. The smile was gone almost immediately. He never really let his emotions show for long. _Emotions are dangerous_, he remembered Hades telling him, _They can be used against you. Don't stop yourself from having any emotions at all, though. You are still part human_.

Nico began picking the splinters out of his arms. He should probably ask Leo for help getting the ones off his back, where he couldn't reach as well, but the son of Hephaestus was pressing some buttons on the ship's console.

"Well, _that_ was sucktastic." Leo said unhappily. He sounded annoyed, probably about the mast. "Should I wake the others?"

"They need to rest." Hazel said. "We'll have to figure out another way on our own."

"Huh." Leo mumbled before looking at his screen. He frowned. "Another way. Do you see one?" A map of Italy was glowing on the screen. Nico could make out the Apennine Mountains, and a green dot that presumably represented the _Argo II_. It would have been easiest to cross straight over the Apennines, but every time they tried, the _numina_ that littered the area played target practice with the boulders. _A hundred points if you knock the child of Hades off the mast!_, He imagined them saying, _A thousand if you take down the whole ship in one hit! Winner takes all demigods for a quick brunch!_

"It's our fault." Hazel said, looking upset, and slightly ashamed. "Nico's and mine. The _numina_ can sense us." Nico saw Hazel look at him, and he knew she was thinking about how he had been regaining his strength. He was still thin, but he always had been, even before Bianca died. His shirt- black, of course- and jeans- also black- He was a lot paler though, and his hair was longer and unkempt. Like the numina, except his was dark.

He gripped his sword tightly in his hand. That was just an instinct whenever he was angry, as if it were a threat. _Don't you dare think this is your fault, Hazel,_ he thought, giving her a sharp glance before speaking.

"Earth spirits don't like children of the Underworld. That's true. We get under their skin-_literally_. But," He said, casting another glance at Hazel, "I think the numina could sense this ship anyway. It's carrying the Athena Parthenos. That thing is like a magical beacon."

Leo ran his finger along the screen.

"So crossing the mountains is out. Thing is, they go a long way in either direction."

"We could go by sea," said Hazel, "Sail around the southern tip of Italy."

"That's a long way. Plus, we don't have..." His voice cracked, and he mentally cursed himself. "You know...our sea expert, Percy."

"What about continuing north?" Hazel suggested, "There _has_ to be a break in the mountains, or something."

Nico didn't say anything-he didn't talk much. But he figured that there wasn't going to be a break in the mountains. Even if there were, the numina could still find a way to attack. The breaks in the mountains were never really that big.

"I dunno," Leo said suddenly, snapping Nico out of his train of thought, "I don't see any good passes to the north. But I like that idea better than backtracking south. I'm done with Rome."

Nico decided not to argue. Rome wasn't fun. It was where they lost Percy and Annabeth to the depths of Tartarus. Suddenly, Nico remembered a time with Bianca. Every time Bianca would accuse him of losing something, he would grin, shake his head, and say that he "Momentarily misplaced it."

They didn't lose Percy, or Annabeth. They were only momentarily misplaced. At least, Nico hoped so. He didn't know what he would do if they actually were lost. If they were...

"Whatever we do," Nico said, not wanting to think about Percy, "we have to hurry. Everyday that Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus..."

Of course his brain thought of Percy again.

"Maybe we _should_ wake the others. This decision affects us all." Nico suggested, scowling at the land below them. In Nico's mind, waking the others seemed like the best option. He didn't need anyone on this ship to be mad at him for making the wrong decision.

"No. We can find a solution." Hazel said. Nico didn't know why she didn't want to wake everyone else up. It was logical in his mind. Then again, maybe she was just being polite. They had taken the night shift, after all.

"We need some creative thinking," Hazel continued, "Another way to cross those mountains, or a way to hide ourselves from the _numina_."

Nico sighed. "If I was on my own, I could shadow-travel. But tht won't work for an entire ship. And honestly, I'm not sure I have the stregnth to even transport _myself_ anymore."

Staying in a bronze jar for such a long time wasn't good for anyone's health. Nico had grown incredibly weak and skinny. He was regaining his stregnth, and some weight, but he was still pretty weak.

"I could maybe rig some kind of camouflage. Like a smoke screen to hide us in the clouds." He suggested, but he sounded slightly bored.

"Arion." Hazel suddenly said, looking off into the distance.

"What?" Nico asked, turning to see what had his half-sister so enthralled. On the horizon, there was a beige...dust cloud? Why was it getting closer? And why was it so fast?

Leo whooped happily. "It's her horse, man! You missed that whole part. We haven't seen him since Kansas!"

Nico frowned, and was vaguely aware of Hazel laughing. What kind of a horse could go that fast? Was it even safe?

Said horse, _Arion_, Nico guessed, was getting closer. It circled a hill, stopping at the top. It shouldn't have been possible, but but it's whinny carried all the way to the Argo II.

"We have to meet him," Hazel insisted. "He's here to help."

"Yeah, okay," Leo said, scratching his head, "But, uh, we talked about the not landing the ship on the ground anymore, remember? You know, with Gaea wanting to destroy us and all."

"Just get me close, and I'll use the rope ladder," Hazel said hurridley. "I think Ario wants to tell me something."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! I got so much great feedback already, and I have a few things to say.**

**To Guest 1: Thanks for the advice you forced upon me! I know, more angst. Because there isn't really that many parts mainly based on Nico's feelings, I can make him as Angsty as I want.**  
**Guest 2: Thanks! And I swear I'm not Rick Riordan. I'm not as evil, and I'm not the same gender, anyway. XD**  
**Guest 3: Thanks! It is kinda difficult due to the lack of Nico emotion shown, but I'm dealing.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Nico

Nico was perched at the top of the ladder next to Leo. The two demigods were watching Hazel as she climbed down the ladder. Almost as soon as she reached the ground, she was hugging Arion. _So, not all children of Hades are bad with animals_, Nico thought jealously, _It's just me_. He remembered when he used to ask his mother for a dog before...yeah. It's safe to say that he never did get a dog.

_It's just as well_, he reasoned, _it probably would've hated me anyway_. He didn't know if the rumors that dogs could actually sense ghosts was true or not, but it would explain why dogs stayed away from him. He radiated death. Being a son of Hades, of course, it was a given. Yet, Hazel was a child of Hades, too. She didn't radiate death. Quite the opposite, actually. _I guess it's just because I spend so much time in the Underworld_, Nico mused. It made sense. _I wonder if the others can smell the death on me, too..._

"Hazel!" Nico shouted down. He didn't want to think of how freaky he was. Not here, not now. "What's going on?"

"It's fine!" Hazel called back. She bent down for a minute, then gave something to the horse. Arion, Nico corrected himself. "Arion wants to take me somewhere."

Nico and Leo glanced at each other. They weren't the best of friends, to put it mildly. Nico hated Leo, and he could guess the feeling was mutual.

At the very least, he scared him.

"Uh..." Leo pointed off into the distance, "Please tell me he's not taking you into _that_?" Nico glanced towards where Leo had pointed. There was a storm over some ancient Roman ruins, and...was that a tornado?

Nico watched helplessly as Hazel climbed onto the horse's (_Arion_, he angrily chided himself. Maybe that's why animals hate him so much.) back.

"I'll be okay!" Hazel called up. "Stay put and wait for me."

"Wait for how long?" Nico asked worriedly. "What if you don't come back?"

"Don't worry, I will." She promised. She took one last glance up at her half brother before spurring Arion. Then she disappeared across the mountains.

That's when Leo turned on him.

"'Wait for how long'? 'What if you don't come back'?!" He exclaimed, "Gee, you're a little ray of sunshine, aren't you?" He asked sarcastically.

Nico looked down at his feet. I'll be okay. The same words Bianca had told him before leaving on that quest. The quest that killed her, just for a stupid figurine of his father. The son of Hades's fists tightened, and he gritted his teeth.

"You wouldn't understand." He said menacingly. He didn't want to deal with this. Not with Leo, not with memories, not with his past, not with anything. Now Hazel is riding into a storm alone. He couldn't go with her. He couldn't protect her. He didn't think he could stand it if Hazel died.

"I wouldn't understand?" Leo asked, his eyes filled with an emotion Nico couldn't identify. "Listen up, Death Breath. I don't know a lot about you, and I don't want to. I don't know your reasons for being so moody, or emo, or whatever you call this. Maybe it's a child of Hades thing. I don't know. But you can't go around saying things like that. 'What if you don't come back?' 'Wait for how long?' We will wait for however long she needs, because she _is_ coming back. You need to have faith in Hazel. And if you can't do that, then you need to keep your mouth shut."

Nico's hand went towards his Stygian iron sword for a minute before going back into his pocket. Killing the only crew member who could actually steer the ship? Not a good idea.

"I had a sister. Before I brought Hazel back. She died on a quest, and the last thing she told me was 'I'll be okay.'" Nico looked directly into Leo's eyes. "I'm a child of Hades, and so is Hazel. We're cursed to live horrible lives. It's just the way it is. So you can see why I'm a little hesitant to have Hazel by herself, on the ground, with numina and Gaea and everything else going on!" Nico's eyes went wide. He didn't mean to say...all of that. His jaw jutted out and he stared at his feet, eyes narrowing.

"Nico..." Leo tried, but the cursed son of Hades shook his head.

"Shut up, Valdez." He snapped. The shadows opened up, and Nico allowed them to completely engulf him. The last thing he saw before the darkness blocked his vision was Leo, jumping back from the shadows, obviously surprised. Nico closed his eyes, deciding that he didn't care where he ended up. Anywhere but the deck, he thought, letting his subconscious choose. Anywhere away from him.

Gods, he hated Leo Valdez.


	3. Chapter 3

**I feel kind of bad because the last chapter was so short. And so...weird...not my best chapter. /)_(\ Please don't hate me. This chapter will be (HOPEFULLY) well-written angst. Just some filler stuff before Hazel gets back. (It's these things that make me scared I'm not going to be able to fulfill my duties. Iwill have to make up a lot of things in this.)**  
**Question of the day: Do you think they'll be Nico chapters in BoO? I hope so. That would be AMAZING. Poor Nico. He never gets any attention. :3 It gets better (Actually, it probably doesn't since Rick Riordan controls your life.)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Nico

Nico was surprised to see where he landed. As soon as the shadows reopened and he tumbled out, (He should have been concentrating better, but the fact he had just told Leo Valdez, the person he probably hated the most, about Bianca's death had him too frazzled to focus on his landing.) a familiar smell hit his nose. The smell of seawater and sand. His eyes wide, he scrambled back against the wall.

He had landed in Percy Jackson's room.

Since Percy had fallen into Tartarus with Annabeth, the crew had offered Nico the use of his room. Nico had declined the offer, though. He didn't want to touch anything, to mess anything up. He wanted Percy to come back to his room looking exactly the same as it had when he left it.

Nico hesitantly stood up and glanced around the room. The bed was only halfway made, some of the aqua colored sheets laying in a pile on the floor. The dresser was the same color as the sheets, and the walls were simply the color of the ocean, with a carpet the color of sand. Leo had customized each room to match the person who would be staying in it.

Despite hating the son of Hephaestus, he had to admit- Leo had gotten Percy exactly.

Nico breathed in the smell again. It smelled like the beach, just like Percy. _I should get out of here_, Nico thought, _before I ruin anything_. He walked to the door before turning around and taking one last breath of the perfect smelling air. He allowed a small smile to dance on his lips before he turned back around and opened the door.

Which hit a certain blonde haired wonder in the face.

Hard.

"_Ow_!" Jason Grace exclaimed, his hand flying up to his nose.

"Oh, gods, I uh, um, I mean...sorry!" Nico stammered. He dug around in the pocket of his aviator jacket before pulling out a square of ambrosia. He tossed it to the son of Jupiter, who was muttering curses under his breath in Latin. As Jason ate the piece of ambrosia, Nico stood there, a blush forming on his face. He had no idea why he was acting so flustered. Maybe it was because Jason had just caught Nico in Percy's room. Technically, the room had been offered to him. So he doubted they would get mad. But they would wonder what he was doing in Percy's room. That might make them suspicious. He couldn't risk that. _What if they put two and two together_, Nico wondered, _and they figure it out_? If he really stopped and thought about it, though, he had done a pretty good job of keeping his secret to himself. But now, it seemed, the world was ending. Jason would know. _Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, oh gods_, Nico kept thinking to himself. _Please kill me now, kill me now, kill me now!_

Jason swallowed the last of the ambrosia and touched his nose, which had already begun to heal.

"Thanks for the ambrosia, Nico." Jason said, a smile on his face. "Finally warming up to me?"

Nico couldn't help himself. If Jason was about to release his big secret, maybe he could pretend to be clueless.

"I hit you in the face with a door." Nico deadpanned, "I broke your nose."

"Well, yeah." Jason said, "But it was an accident. You gave me ambrosia."

"I figured if I ran away, you would hunt me down and zap me or something." He confessed, a small laugh escaping his lips. Suddenly he stopped himself, all humor gone, his lips forming a thin, straight line.

_What is wrong with me today?_ He asked himself. _Why am I acting so differently?_

"Well, I'm going to the mess hall to get a snack. Want to come?" Jason offered.

"No. Uh...no thanks. I'm going up to the deck to wait for Hazel." Jason raised an eyebrow.

"What happened to Hazel?"

Nico filled Jason in on what had been happening while the son of Jupiter was asleep. "...but Leo and I have it under control." Nico finished. "You can go get your snack or whatever and go back to sleep. We'll wake you guys up later."

Jason looked reluctant, like he wanted to help, but he just shrugged instead. "Okay." He said before walking past Nico. "See you later, Nico."

Once Jason was out of sight, Nico leaned against the wall and slid down, until he was sitting on the floor. He put his head in between his knees, trying not to throw up.

Did Jason find out, or was he just being paranoid?

He prayed to whatever god handled morbidly embarrassing secrets that Jason hadn't found out. Then he prayed to the god of love Cupid that Jason didn't find out. Then he even prayed to Demeter and Hades that if Jason did find out, he would eat some poisoned cereal so he wouldn't have to live through Jason telling everyone. He didn't care what they thought if he was dead. If he was alive and forced to live through it, well, that was a whole different story.

_I'm a child of Hades, and so is Hazel. We're cursed to live horrible lives,_ he told Leo.

Was this part of the 'curse'? To hate himself, to be disgusted by himself for being...no. He couldn't even think it!

His life is already so horrible. His mother, the Lotus Casino, Bianca, Percy and Annabeth falling into Tartarus, just Percy all together...why him? Just because his father is the god of death? He didn't ask to be a demigod! He didn't get a choice! It wasn't fair! He wasn't allowed to choose his parent.

Although, he did have to admit that he probably would have chosen Hades, anyway. Hades was pretty powerful in Mythomagic, and- no. Mythomagic was his past. He didn't play that stupid game anymore. He had grown out of it. He had burned all of his cards except for one, and he threw all his figurines in the River Styx. Well...all but one. He kept the first card he ever got, because Bianca had given to him for his birthday. He kept the little Hades figurine Bianca had died for.

He couldn't stand to throw it away.

"_Hey, Death Breath to the main deck. Hazel is coming up._" Leo's voice buzzed through an intercom.

Nico jumped up, and was at the deck faster than Leo could say "Flame on!"


End file.
